Fonzie of Westtown – a 1½ year-old English bulldog – has only two more days until the National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, held by The Kennel Club of Philadelphia.

“The day before a show I’ll give him a bath and I’ll clip his whiskers and I’ll do all the stuff I can do here,” said Steve Aikman, Fonzie’s owner. “And once we do that, every time we go to the door, he’s ready to go in the car.”

The dog show is a two-day event, on Nov. 17 and 18, and Fonzie will be a second-time competitor. He has competed in about 12 different shows and is on his way to becoming an American Kennel Club Champion with six points and one major win.

To be an AKC champion, the dog must accrue 15 points and have two major wins. A major win is three points, and for male bulldogs, like Fonzie, there has to be at least eight males in the competition for it to be a major win – the number varies by breed and sex.

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Aikman first started showing bulldogs in 2000, but he hasn’t had a champion yet.

“Hopefully this will be our first one. He’s well on his way for his age, so we’re excited.”

Most shows are unbenched, which means the dogs are only required to be present when they are judged and may leave after. But this weekend’s show is a bench show, which means the dogs are assigned to a bench in the arena and stay there for the duration unless they are showing.

“The spectators come in and they get to walk around and they get to meet the handlers. They get to meet the owners, the breeders, pet the dogs, interact with the dogs. That’s what makes it fun,” said Aikman. “You get to meet a lot people that are interested in your breed.”

Judges look at things like gait, movement, head, bone structure and good temperament. A win for Fonzie this weekend could not only get him closer to an AKC championship, but it could also get him on TV. The show is televised after the Macy’s day parade on Thanksgiving Day.

“Do we hope we win next weekend? Yeah, you always want to win,” said Aikman. But on the whole, he does dog shows because they are fun. “Basically you want to have fun with the dog. If the dog is not having fun and you’re not having fun, then it’s not worth doing.”

Aikman got his first bulldog in 1999 as a pet and started breeding a few years later. He bred Fonzie and still has Fonzie’s mother, Sadie, who is a retired show dog.

“I’ve always wanted bulldogs growing up,” said Aikman. “I never thought I would get into showing; then I got my second bulldog because everybody says you just can’t have one.” He decided to try a few shows “and just started really getting into it.”